The present invention relates to a method for painting a vehicle with at least two colors, hues and/or shades of paint. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for painting a vehicle with at least two colors, hues and/or shades of paint without having to mask or cover a portion of the vehicle.
It is often desirable to paint a vehicle body with two or more colors, hues and/or shades of paint on two or more different portions of the vehicle body. Vehicles painted in this manner are conventionally referred to as xe2x80x9ctwo-tonexe2x80x9d vehicles and the process by which they are painted is commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9ctwo-tonexe2x80x9d painting process.
According to a conventional method, a two-tone painting process is performed by applying a first base coat to a first portion of the body of the vehicle as the vehicle moves through a conventional paint booth, and then applying a clear coat of paint to the body of the vehicle as the vehicle moves further through the paint booth. The first base coat and the clear coat are then baked in a conventional manner. Thereafter the first base coat is covered with a conventional masking material (e.g., a masking sheet), and a second base coat is applied to a second portion of the vehicle body by moving or transporting the vehicle through a paint booth. Finally, a second clear coat of paint is applied to the body of the vehicle, and the second base coat and the second clear coat are baked within a conventional oven.
This conventional xe2x80x9ctwo-tonexe2x80x9d painting process or method suffers from some drawbacks. In particular, the conventional method requires a relatively large number of steps which include transporting the vehicle through a paint booth at least twice, applying at least two layers of clear coat paint, baking both the first and second base coat twice, and applying a masking material to the vehicle after it has received the first base coat of paint and before it has received the second base coat of paint. The relatively large number of required operations delays the production of vehicles and increases the cost and the inefficiency of the overall vehicle production process.
It is therefore desirable to provide a method for applying two or more colors, hues and/or shades of paint to a vehicle body which lowers and/or reduces the number of operations currently used to apply such paint to the vehicle body.
It is a first object of the present invention to provide a method for painting a vehicle which overcomes the previously delineated drawbacks of conventional methods for painting a vehicle.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a method for painting a vehicle in which two colors, hues and/or shades of paint may be applied to the vehicle body in an efficient manner.
According to a first aspect of the present invention a method is provided for applying a first and second paint material to an object. The method includes the steps of applying the first paint material to an entire first portion of the object and partially applying the paint material to a second portion of the object; and applying the second paint material to the entire second portion, thereby covering the partially applied first paint material and causing the applied second paint material to cooperate with the applied first paint material to form a line of demarcation.
These and other objects, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description in combination with the accompanying drawings.